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IN THE SUPREME COURT OF IOWA No. 97 / 05-0561 Filed September 22, 2006 STATE OF IOWA, Appellee, vs. CHARLOTTE HUTCHISON, FRANK CORDARO, JOSH PLANK, RITA HOHENSHELL, and EDWARD BLOOMER, Appellants.

Appeal from the Iowa District Court for Polk County, Michael D. Huppert, Judge.

Defendants appeal their convictions for trespass. AFFIRMED.

Sally Frank, Des Moines, for appellants.

Thomas J. Miller, Attorney General, Darrel L. Mullins, Assistant Attorney General, John P. Sarcone, County Attorney, and Justin Allen, Assistant County Attorney, for appellee.

2 TERNUS, Justice. Appellants, Charlotte Hutchison, Frank Cordaro, Josh Plank, Rita Hohenshell, and Edward Bloomer, appeal their convictions for simple misdemeanor trespass. These convictions arose from the defendants'

participation in a protest near N.W. 78th Avenue in Polk County in the vicinity of the STARC Armory. The defendants were arrested when they crossed a painted line within the boundary of land leased to the State of Iowa Army National Guard by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Because this line was within the right of way for N.W. 78th Avenue, the defendants claimed they were on public land and therefore could not be charged with criminal trespass. The jury rejected this claim and convicted the defendants. On appeal, the defendants assert there was insufficient evidence to support the jury's finding that they trespassed on private land. Because we find the evidence adequate to support the jury's verdict, we affirm. I. Background Facts and Proceedings. Sometime before November 16, 2003, the Iowa Army National Guard ("Guard") became aware that demonstrators planned an anti-war protest on property owned by the Army Corps of Engineers ("Corps") across the road-- N.W. 78th Avenue--from a gate to the STARC Armory. Prior to the

anticipated demonstration, Lt. Col. Matthew Pitstick, chief training site manager for the armory, used spray paint to mark the Guard's property line. A lease introduced at trial showed the Guard had leased a parcel of land in the Saylorville Lake Flood Control Project from the Corps in 1989 for the purpose of constructing an armory. Included in the lease was a 2850 foot, federally owned strip of land called N.W. 78th Avenue, which connected Corps property near the Saylorville Dam and the armory to N.W.

3 Beaver Drive. Under the terms of the lease, this roadway--N.W. 78th

Avenue--was to be used for access to the Saylorville Lake Project, and the Guard agreed to "assume total responsibility for the operation, maintenance, repair and replacement" of the roadway, including "maintain[ing] the road in good condition and . . . preserv[ing] a smooth surface." The agreement specifies that the right of way for N.W. 78th

Avenue extends fifty feet in each direction from the center of the roadway. The paved road itself is twenty-two feet wide. The line spray-painted by Lt. Col. Pitstick was forty-five feet from the center of the road. On November 16, 2003, the defendants were members of a group that peaceably assembled on the Corps property across from the armory. The group was repeatedly informed by a Guard member that the Guard would not allow a public gathering on its property, that the painted line demarcated that property, and that crossing the line for such a gathering would result in arrest. Notwithstanding these admonitions, following a short statement, the defendants grasped hands and intentionally crossed the painted line. As warned, they were arrested and charged with criminal trespass, in violation of Iowa Code section 716.7(2)(b) (2003), a simple misdemeanor. The cases against the defendants proceeded to a joint jury trial. At the conclusion of the State's evidence, the defendants moved for a judgment of acquittal, asserting the State had failed to establish the offense of trespass. They cited an Iowa Code provision that states a trespass cannot take place "upon the right-of-way of a public road or highway." Iowa Code

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